Fire-door.



H. C. VVALDMAII.

FIRE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20| I9I5.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I I f a l? I.,

#idw t V I l .I s w i I il v I l@ :if J6? 7 26? gpl WEE?? H.v C.WALDMAN. v Infineon. APPLICATION FILED NOVV. 2U. 1915.

Patented Dec. 11,191?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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FIRE-DOOR.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1917.

Application tiled November 20, 1915. Serial No. 62,669.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it lrnown that I, HERMAN C. WALD- MAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Fire- Doors, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to lire doors, and has for one of its objects toprovide an elevator shaft re door of novel construction that will closeautomatically when the elevator car moves away from the door opening andalso when the temperature in proximity to the door opening reaches acertain degree, as, for example, when a re starts in the elevator shaftor in the room in which the door opening is located.

Another object is to provide a lire` door that comprises a locking meansof novel construction for holding the door in its open position and acounterbalancing mechanism for the door which is so designed that thedoor will start tomove into its closed position as soon as it isreleased from said locking device.

Another object is to provide a locking mechanism for fire doors whichcomprises a locking device that is held in engagement with the part withwhich it cooperates, when the door is locked, by means of a temperaturegoverned means, the mechanism being so constructed that if a lire startsin proximity to the door, the locking device will be moved into aninoperative position, thus re leasing the door, by the pressure eXertedon said locking device by the part with which it cooperates.

And still another object is to provide an elevator shaft fire door thatcomprises a locking mechanism of novel design for holding the door inits open position, means for causing the door to move automatically toits closed position as soon as it is released from said lockingmechanism, means for rendering said loclring mechanism inoperative incase a fire starts in proximity to the door when the door is open orwhenever an actuating device that cooperates with said locking mechanismis operated, and means for automatically locking the door when itreaches its closed position.

@ther objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafterpointed out.

I have herein illustrated my invention embodied in two types of firedoors, one consisting of a compound slide-up door provided with twohorizontally'divided sections that move in the same direction and theother consisting of a counter-balanced door provided with twohorizontally divided sec tions that move in opposite directions when thedoor is operated. I wish it to be understood, however, that certainfeatures of my present invention are not limited to fire doors of theparticular type herein illustrated, but, on the contrary, are applicableto any. type of fire door, irrespective of the particular constructionof the door proper or of the mechanism for opening and closing the door.

Figure l of the drawings is an elevational view of a compound slide-upelevator shaft fire door constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevational view of part of the counterbalancingmechanism.

Fig. 3 is a view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, taken at right angles toFig. 2, for the purpose of clearly illustrating the construction of theclips to which the upper ends of the weight chains are connected.

Fig. 4 is a detail side elevational view, showing the clips on the lowersection of the door to which the weight chains are connected.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional View takenV on the line 5--5 ofFig. l.

Fig. G is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. l.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. l.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged front elevational view of the mechanism forlocking the door in its open position.

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of said locking mechanism taken on theline 9-9 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a detail side elevational view illustrating another way offorming the operating lever of said locking mechanism.

Fig. 11 is an elevational View, showing part of a counterbalanced doorconstructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. l2 is a front elevational view of the locking mechanism employed inthe door shown in Fig. 11 for holding the door in its open position; and

which illustrates one form of my invention, A and A designatethe top andbottom sections, respectively, of a compound slide-up door that isarranged on the inside of an elevator shaft, as shown in Fig. 1, saidseetions beingarranged in different vertical planes and being guidedvertically by vertically-disposed tracks 1 shown in Fig. 5 which arepreferably mounted on angle bars 2 that are vconnected to the front wall.of the elevator shaft. The two sections of the door are Y combinedvwith a counterbalancing mechanism comprising chains and weightsarranged in such a manner that both sections of the door will moveupwardly simultaneously, but at different speeds, when the bottomsection of the door is raised, the counterbalan'cing mechanism ereinshown consisting of two chains, or

other suitable flexible members 3, connected to stationary brackets 4 onthe upper ends of the angle bars 2 and leading downwardly from saidbrackets under sheaves 5 on the vtop sectionA of the door, thenceupwardly over sheaves 6 rotatably mounted Von the brackets 4, thencedownwardly from said sheaves 6 to weights B,.to which said chains aresecurely connected. Chains 3a lead from the weightsv B upwardly overshe-aves 7 on the brackets 4, and thence downwardly to the bottomsection A of the door, the lower ends of the chains 3 being preferablyconnected to the upper edge portion of the bottom section A of the door.Then the bottom section of the door is raised the top section will startto move upwardly, but at approximately one-half the speed of the bottomsection, the two sections A and A coming to rest at about the same timein parallel relation to each other above the lintel that extends acrossthe top of the door opening. The lintel 8 is provided with a binder 9that coperates with a depending flange 9 at the upper edge of the topsection A Vof the door, so as to prevent said top sections fromspringing away from the lintel when vthe door is closed, and the meetingedges of the two sections of the door are held` securely together whenthe door is closed by means of a projection 10 on one of said sectionsthat projects into an opening in a device 10"L on the other section, asshown in Fig. 6. A door of the construction above described, which iscommercially known as a compound slide-up door, has

long been in use, and is illustrated and described in my prior APatentNo. 1,034,848, dated August 6, 1912.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, each of the brackets 4 ispro-vided with aclip 11 that is adapted to receive one of the narrow links of the chain3, the two side parts of said bifurcated portion 11 being bent towardeach other at their upper ends, as shown in Fig. 3, after the narrowlink of the chain has been arranged between same, so as to prevent thechain from becoming detached from the clip 11. The lower ends of thechains 3 are connected to the bottom section A of the door by clips 11of similar design, as shown in Fig. 4.

As previously stated, one object of my present invention is to provide afire door which comprises a mechanism for locking the-door in its openposition. The door shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a locking mechanismthat consists of a locking device C that is adapted to engage teeth 18on one of the weights B of the counterbalancing` mechanism when the dooris in its open position, or, in other words, after the top and bottomsections of the door have reached their upper limit of movement. lt isimmaterial, however, so far as my broad idea is concerned, what thelocking device C cooperates with, so long as it engages a part thatmoves with the door. The locking device C is mounted on an operatinglever 14 whose lower nd is pivotally connected at 15 to a stationarysupporting memberln that is arranged on the inside of the elevator shaftin such a position that the teeth 13 on the weight B will be positionedopposite the locking device C when the top and bottom sections of thedoor are at their upper limit of travel. Any suitable means may beemployed for moving the locking device C into and out of engagement withthc part, with which it coperates, but I prefer to provide the elevatorcar D that t avels vertically in the elevator shaft with a slice 17,shown in Figs. 5 and 9, that engages a roller 18 on the operating lever14 when the elevator car reaches the door opening, and thusautomatically shifts the operating lever 14 into such a position thatthe locking device C thereon will engage one of the teeth 12% on theweight B in case the door is opened while the elevator car is standingat the opening which the door closes. lVhen the elevator car moves awayfrom the door opening, either upwardly or downwardly, a spring 19 orother suitable means that is combined with the operating lever 14 movessaid lever in such a direction that the locking device Cthereon isdisengaged from the weight B, thereby releasing the door and permittingit to close automatically in a manner hereinafter described. ln otherwords, the door shown in Fig. 1 is so constructed that the movement ofthe elevator car is utilized to automatically render the locking deviceC operative or arrange said device in such a position that it willautomatically engage the part with which it cooperates, in case thedoor` is opened while the elevator car is standing at rest at theopening in the elevator shaft for which the door forms a closure, themovement of the car away from the door opening causing the lockingdevice C to be rendered inoperative automatically so as to release thedoor.

vThe locking device C is pivotally mounted on the operating lever 14 anda sto-p 20 is provided for limiting the movement of the locking device Cin one direction with relation to the lever 14 and preventing saiddevice from moving accidentally out of engagement with the weight Bafter said weight has come to rest. No means is provided for limiting`the movement of the locking device C in the opposite direction withrelation to the lever 14, however, and consequently, said device is freeto swing on its pivot sutliciently to permit the lower end of the weightB to travel past same, in case said weight is so adjusted that thedevice C will be positioned opposite one of the intermediate teeth 13 onsaid weight when the door is fully opened. The stop 20 is mounted on thesupporting member 16 in such a manner that it will shift automaticallyinto such a position that the locking device C will move out ofengagement with the weight B, and thus release the door whenever thetemperature in proximity to the door reaches a certain degree, as, forexample, when a lire starts in the elevator shaft or in the room inwhich the door opening is located. Normally, the movable stop 20 is heldin engagement with a stationary abutment 21 on the stationary supportingmember 16 by means of a pivotally mounted latch 22 on the member 1G thatextends transversely across one end of the stop 20, as shown clearly inFigs. 8 and 9. Said latch 22 is connected by means of a wire or cable 23to a fusible link 24 that is fastened to the wall of the elevator shaft,preferably to the lintel that extends across the upper edge of the dooropening. It `will thus be seen that when the locking device C isoperative for holding the door in its open position, said locking deviceis maintained in an operative condition by means of the stop 20, which,in turn, is locked by the latch 22, which is joined to the fusible link24. In case a fire starts when the elevator car is standing at the dooropening with the door in its raised or open position, the heat will meltthe link 24, or cause said link to break, thereby taking the strain offthe latch 22, permitting` the stop 20 to swing downwardly and causingthe locking device C to move out of engagement with the weight B, due tothe pressure which said weight exerts on the locking device in adirection tending to swing the inner end of same upwardly. As soon asthe weight B is released the door starts to move to its closed position.I am awareof the fact that locking` mechanisms for fire doors haveheretofore been devised in which the locking device is renderedinoperative automatically, in case a fire starts in proximity to thedoor, but in allof such locking mechanisms with which am familiar aspring is employed for causing the looking device to be disengaged fromthe part with which it cooperates. ln my improved locking mechanism thepressure which the locking device C is subjected to by the part withwhich it eoperates when the door is locked, namely, the weight B, iswhat causes said locking device to release the door when the fuse linkbreaks. Consequently, there is no liability of my locking mechanismfailing to release the door in case a lire starts, as is apt to occur ina locking mechanism equipped with a spring for effecting thedisengagement of the locking device from the part with which itcooperates.

In order that the door will start to move automatically into its closedposition as soon as the locking device C is rendered inoperative, eitherby movement of the elevator car away from `the door opening, or bybreaking of the fusible link 24, l have constructed the counterbalancingmechanism in such a manner that the weioht of the door is greater thanthe load or weight that the weights B exert on the door, when the dooris in its vopen position. l/Vhen the door starts to move from its closedinto its open position the two sections of the door are approximatelycounterbalanced by the weights B, thus requiring very little power orpressure to open the door. rl`his approximate balan'cing of the doorsections and the weights B of the counterbalancing mechanism ismaintained until the door is nearly open. Thereafter, the pressure orpull that the weights B'exert on the sections A and A of the door isreduced so that by the time the door reaches its open position and islocked by the device C, the combined weight of the top and bottomsections of the door is greater than the combined pull or pressure thatthe two weights B exert on the door. I accomplish this by providing theweights B with shiftable portions B that are so arranged that they willcome to rest and be supported by a means separate and distinct from theweights B before said weights B reach their limit of movement during theoperation of opening the door. The weights B slide vertically in weighthousings 25 that extend longitudinally of the vertically-disposed tracks1, each of said weight housings preferably being provided with twovertically-disposed guides 26 arranged diametrically opposite eachother, as shown in Fig. 5, that embrace oppositely-disposed corners ofthe weight B arranged between same, said weight beingrectangularly-shaped in cross section and the guides Bbeingangularly-shaped in cross section. The guides 26 can be formedconveniently from angle bars that are held in position byhorizontally-disposed straps or supporting members 27 connected to theuprights 2 that carry the door guides or tracks l. The outer wall of theweight housing is preferably formed from a strip of sheet metal bent inthe form shown in Fig. 5 and connected at one edge to one of the weightguides 26 and at its opposite end to the upright 2, said housing beingsubstantially channel-shaped in cross section and extending upwardlyfrom the lower edge of the door opening to a point in proximity to thebracket that carries the sheaves 6 and 7 of the door operatingmechanism. The sill 28 of the door projects laterally under the twoweight housings 25 and actsas a bottomV for said weight housing, asshown in Figs. l and 9. Each of the shiftable weights B is suspendedfrom its cooperating weight BA by means of a rod 29 that projectsupwardly through a verticallydisposed pipe 30 in the weight B. At the llower end of the rod 29 is a head or abutment 31 which is preferablyprovided with a resilient buffer 31a, as shown in Fig. 9. A coiledexpansion spring 3lb is arranged between the head 31 on the rod 29 andthe weight B, and at the upper end of said rod 29 is a stop 32 which ispreferably adjustablypmounted on said rod. When the door is closed, asshown in Fig. l, each of the i VSi) open position.

weights B is arranged some distance below its cooperating weight B, saidweight B being maintained'in this position by the rod 29 whose stop 32rests upon a supporting shoulder formed by a collar 33 at the lower endof the pipe 30. When the weights B move downwardly, due to the upwardmovement of the top and bottom sections of the door, the lower ends ofthe rods 29 come in contact with the sill 28 before the sections of thedoor reach their upward limit of travel, and thus cause the weights B tocome' to rest before the weights B reach their downward limit ofmovement, the rods 29 telescoping in the tubes or pipes 30 in theweights B. VWhen the two sections of the door move upwardly, the weightsB come to rest before the door sections have reached their upper limitof travel, thus causing only the weights B, which weigh less than saiddoor sections, to act upon said sections. The momentum of the doorsections is suliicient, however, to compensate for the excess weight ofthe door sections and cause said sections to move upwardly into theirfully i When the locking device C is rendered inoperative in either ofthe manners previously described, the weights B start to move upwardlyand the sections of the` door start to move downwardly, owing Y'to theYfact that said door sections are heavier than the weights B. After theweights` B have moved upwardly a certain distance thc collars 33 on thelower ends of the tubes 3() in saidweights come in contact with thestops 32 on the rods 29, and thus cause the weights B to be picked up,or, in other words, to move upwardly with the weights B, the momentum ofthe two sections A and A of the door being sul'licient to overcome theweights B, and thus insuring the scctions of the door moving downwardlyto their closed positions, even though the sections of the door and theweights B and B are now approximately counterbalanccd or ofapproximately the saine weight.

The auxiliary weights B of the counterbalancing mechanism tend io checkthe downward movement of the door after said auxiliary weights have beenpicked up by the weights B, and consequently, said aux iliary weights Boperate in practically the same manner as a brake to prevent the twosections of the door from coming to rest with a sudden shock or jar. Bychanging the position of the adjustable stops 32 on the rods 29 thatsupport the auxiliary weights B', the downwiard movement of the twoscctions of the door can bc accurately controlled, owing to the factthat when said stops are at the extreme upper ends of the rods 29, thedoor will move downwardly a greater distance before the weights B arepicked up, and consequently, will attain greater momentum than when thestops 32 are arranged some distance below the upper ends of the rods 29.The springs 31" on which the weights B rest and the resilient buers 3lon the lower ends of the rods 29 cushion the shock on said weights androds during the opening movement of the door, and said springs 3lb alsocushion the shocks on the weights B when said weights are picked up bythe weights B during the closing movement of the door. A spring 33 ispreferably arranged between the stop 32 and the collar 33 to absorb theshock on said stop when it is picked up by said collar. dien the doorreaches its closed position it is locked automatically by a lockingmechanism which is preferably so arranged that it can be operated onlyfrom the interior of the elevator shaft. The door shown in Fig. l isprovided with a gravity-operated mechanism for locking the door in itsclosed position, which mechanism consists of two horizontal]y-disposedlatch rods 3l on the bottom section A of the door that coperate withstationary lugs or abutments 35 arranged adjacent the door sill 2S, asshown in Fig. l. Said latch rods are pivotally connected at their innerends to an oscillating member 3G on the bottom section of the door thatis provided with an arm 37 to which an operatingbar 38 is connected. Theweight of the operating bar 38 normally holds the member 36 in such aposition that the latch bars 34 project laterally from the side edges ofthe bottom section ofthe door into the path of the stationary stops 35.Said stops are provided with inclined faces, as shown in Fig. 1, andconsequently, when the bottom section of the door moves downwardly, thelatch bars 34 will ride over the inclined faces onthe stops 35 and thenspring laterally underneath said stops when the door reaches its closedposition, thereby automatically locking the door closed. 1t will, ofcourse,

be understood that various other means could be employed forautomatically locking the door in its closed position, but 1 prefer toequip the door with a. gravitybperated locking mechanism of theconstruction above described, on account of itsA simplicity andeficiency.

1t is immaterial, so far as my broad idea' is concerned, how theauxiliary weights B are combined with the weights B of thecounterbalancing mechanism, so long as said elements are connectedtogether in such a manner that the door and the weights of thecounterbalancing mechanism will be approximately counterbalanced whenthe door starts to move into its open position and will be thrown out ofbalance automatically prior to the completion of the opening movement ofthe door so that the door will be heavier than said 'weights when it iscompletely opened, and consequently, will start automatically to move toits closed position as soon as the locking device C is renderedinoperative. The stationary supporting member 16 on which the operatinglever 14 is mounted preferably consists of a casting arranged adjacentthe lower end of one of the weight housings 25 on the outside of sameand supported by a strap or band 40 which extends across said housing,as shown in Fig. 5, and is connected to one of the vertically-disposeduprights 2, as shown in Fig. 5. Said supportingmember 16 is, provided atits lower end with a stop 16a, shown in Fig. 9, that cooperates with thelower end of the operating lever 14 to limit the outward movement ofsaid lever, and the roller 18 on the upper end of said lever ispreferably mounted in such a manner that it can be adjusted toward andaway from the shoe 17 on the elevator car D, so as to insure propercooperation of said shoe and roller without going to the trouble andexpense of changing the adjustment of the shoe 17 or the adjustment ofthe stationary supporting member 16 that carries the operating lever 14.In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 8 `and 9 the operatinglever 14 is provided at its upper end with an adjustableportion14a`equip'ped with a toothed or serrated part 41 that cooperates with atoothed 'or serrated parttl-onthe lever 14, as showiiin `Fig; 8,- aadadjustable or in other words, secured to the lever 14 by means of a bolt42 that passes through the serrated parts of said elements. The spring19 that moves the operating lever 14 outwardly after the shoe 17 on theelevator car has passed out of engagement with the roller 18 is mountedon a guiding plunger 43 between a head 43EL on said plunger and a stop44 that is secured to the adjustable portion 14a of the operating leverbythe bolt 42. Said guiding plunger 43 is provided at its opposite endwith a head 43h, shown in Fig. 5, that strikes againstzthe stop 44 afterthe shoe on the elevator car has released the operating lever 14.Another con# venient way of forming the operating lever 14 isillustrated in Fig. 10, wherein the adjustable roller-carrying portion14a is pivotally connected at 45 to the upper end o't the lever 14 andsaid parts are provided with coperatingholes 46 through which aretaininp` pin or bolt 47 can be inserted, so as to hold theroller-carrying portion 141L of the operating lever in adjustedposition, the cooperating holes 46 in said parts being spaced in such amanner that a very delicate adjustment is provided for the portion 14a.

An elevator fire door of the construction above described eliminates thepossibility of tire gaining headway in a building, by failure of theelevator operator to close the door when a lire starts, owing to thefact that the door is normally locked by the gravity-operated lockingmechanism on the bottom section of the door and is provided with acounterbalancing mechanism which is so designed that the door will closeautomatically when the elevator car moves away from the` door opening,either upwardly or downwardly, and also when a fire starts while theelevator car is standing at the door opening. The door can be opened aseasily as the ordinary compound slide-up door now in use, but it has theadded advantage of closing automatically when the elevator car movesaway from the door opening and also when a Vlire starts while theelevator car is standing at the door opening. While 1 prefer to equipthe elevator car with a shoe or other suitable means for rendering thelockportion 142L being held in adjusted position,

ing device C operative or putting it in such a condition that it willautomatically engage the part of the counterbalancing mechanism withwhich it cooperates when the door reaches its eXtreme open position, Ido not wish it to be understood that my broad 'idea is limited to a firedoor constructed in this exact manner, for it is immaterial what meansare employed Jfor rendering the loclr-f ing device C operative.Furthermore, while I prefer to equip the locking `mechanism with afusible link or other suitable means for causing the door to be releasedautomatically, in fire it will, of course,

litt

t but this also is not essential, so long as said locking device i's soarranged that it will cooperate with some part of the structure to lockthe door in its open position.

In'Figs. 11, 12 and 13 I have illustrated a counterbalanced elevatorshaft fire door constructed in accordance with my invention, in whichthe door is composed of two horizontally divided sections AS and A4 thatmovevin opposite directions when the door is operated. Chains or othersuitable liexible devices that are connected to the top section A3 ofthe door lead upwardly over sheaves 61, and thence downwardly to rods62`thatV are connected to laterally-projecting brackets 63 on the bottomsection A4 of the door, as shown in Fig. 11. Only one of the chains 60and rods 62 is shown in Fig. 11, but it will, of course, be understoodthat said elements are duplicated at the opposite side edge of the door.Each of the rods 62 is equipped with a weight 64, and the top section A3of the door is provided with a counterbalancingv weight 65, or, in otherwords,

is made heavy enough so that it will be of yapproximately the sameweight as' the bottom lsection A4c of the door and the weight 64 on therod 62. hen the door is moved into its-open position by raising the topsection or depressing the bottom section, the

f. weight 64 will move downwardly with the rod '62 until said weightcomes in contact with `a stationary abutment 66 arranged in the path oftravel of said weight on any suitable stationary portion of thestructure. The momentum of the two sections of the door is suflicient tocarry both sections to theirxeXtreme limit of movement',notwithstandingthe fact that the top section A3 of the door isthenslightly heavier than the bottom section of the door, owing to thefact that the weight of the bottom section was reduced automaticallywhen the weight 64 camein contact with the stationary weightsupportingmember 66; l/Vhen the door reaches its eXtreme open position a lockingdevice C that is pivotally mounted on an -operating lever 140, as shownin Fig. 13,

snaps into yposition over a lug 13 on the bottom section A4 of the door,and thus prevents eithersection from moving back to its closed ypositionuntil said locking device C is tripped or rendered` inoperative. Theoperating lever 140 is carried by a stationary supporting member 160land is provided at 4itslovwer end with lafroller 180 that cooperateswith ;a shoe 170 on the elevator car, Saidshoe being so arranged thatthe operati-ng lever i140 will be moved automatically intoisuch alposition that the locking device (3^ will be zrendered .operative whenthe. e1@- vator car approaches the door opening. llien the elevator carmoves away from the door opening in either direction, a spring 190 thatcoperates with the operating lever 140, will cause the locking device Cto move automatically into an inoperative position, and thus release thebottom section A" of the door. Both sections of the door will thereuponstart to move into their closed position, owing to the fact that the topsection A3 of the door is heavier than the bottom section. After thebottom section has moved upwardly a certain distance the arm orlaterally-projecting bracket 63 thereon will pick up the weight 64 thatwas resting on the stationary support-ing member 66 and will thus causethe movement of both sections of the door to be checked sntliciently tocause said sections to come to rest in their closed position without asudden jar or shock, the weight 64 being so arranged that it will not bepicked up until after the two sections of the door have gainedsuilicicnt momentum to carry them home to their closed position. 1norder that the door will close automatically, in case a lire stai-tswhen the elevator car is standing at the door opening with the door inits open position, I have provided the locking mechanism with a latch122 that limits the movement of the locking device C in one direction inprac tically the same manner as the locking latch 22 of the structureillustrated in Figs. S and 9, said locking latch 122 being connected bymeans of a wire or cable 123 to a fusible link 124 secured to the lintelof the door opening or to any other suitable stationary part of theelevator shaft. The locking device C is mounted on the operating lever140 in such a manner that it is free to swing in one direction, and thuspermit the laterally-projecting lug or stop 13a on the bottom section ofthe door to pass same when the door is being opened, but the lockinglatch 122 is so arranged that it will prevent said locking device C fromswinging in the opposite direction after the lng 13 has engaged theunderside of said locking device. Then the fusible link 124 breaks aspring 67, l which is connected to the latch 122, causes said latch tomove automatically into such a position that the locking device C isrendered inoperative with respect to the part 13n on the door with whichit coperates, thus permitting the door to start to move automaticallyinto its kclosed position.

I have not herein illustrated my invention embodied in al one-piece dooror in a rolling shutter, but it will, of course, be obvious that theinvention could be applied to lire doors of the type `just mentioned,therefore, I do not wish `it to be understood that my invention islimited to horizontally divided tire doors or to compound slide-up doorsand. counterbalanced doors, for one feature of `as it is released fromsaid locking mechanism, and so far as this feature is concerned, it isimmaterial whether or not the locking mechanism is rendered operativeautomatically by a shoe on the elevator car and comprises means forcausing the door to be released automatically from said lockingmechanism, in case a tire starts. rIhe particular details oicconstruction of the various elements of the complete door areimmaterial, and while I have herein illustrated and described types oflocking mechanisms that can be applied successfully to compound slide-upfire doors and counterbalanced fire doors, it will, of course, beunderstood that various other means could be employed for accomplishingthe results previously described without departing from the spirit oi myinvention.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

l. In a fire door, a locking mechanism comprising a shiftable elementprovided with a pivotally mounted locking device, a part that coperateswith said device to lock the door, means for moving said element so asto carry the locking device thereon into and out of operative positionwith relation to said part, a movable stop arranged so that it willengage said locking device when said shiftable element moves in onedirection and hold said device in operative engagement with said part, alatch for locking said stop, and a temperature governed means combinedwith said latch for holding said latch in operative engagement with saidstop.

2. In a lire door, a locking mechanism comprising a shiftable element, asupporting structure on which said element is mounted, a movable lockingdevice on said shiftable element, a part with which said locking devicecoperates, a movable stop on said supporting structure for holding saidlocking device in operative position with relation to said part, and alatch on said supporting structure combined with a temperature governedmeans for preventing said stop from moving into a position to releasesaid locking device.

3. In a fire door, a locking mechanism comprising a shiftable element, asupporting structure on which said element is mounted, a pivot/allymounted locking device on said element that is free to swing in onedirection, a part that coperates with said locking device to lock thedoor, a stop on said supporting structure for preventing said lockingdevice from swinging in the opposite direction when it is engaged withsaid part, and a temperature governed means for resisting movement ofsaid stop in one direction when it is engaged by said locking device.

4f. In a fire door, a locking mechanism comprising a shittable element,a supporting structure on which said element is mounted, a pivotallymounted locking device on said element that is free to swing in onedirection, a part that coperates with said loclring device to leek thedoor, a pivotally mounted stop on said supporting structure thatprevents said locking device from swinging in the opposite directionwhen it is engaged with said part, an abutment on said Structure againstwhich said stop bears, a latch for holding said stop in engagement withsaid abutment, and a temperature governed means for preventing saidlatch from moving. a

5. In a fire door, a locking mechanism comprising a lever, an actuatingmeans for said lever, an adjustable extension on one end of said leverthat coperates with said actuating means, a traveling part, a lockingdevice that coperates with said part and which is mounted on the leverin such a manner that it will swing in one direction when engaged bysaid traveling part, and a temperature governed means for preventingsaid locking device from swinging in the opposite direction when saidtraveling part is at rest and engaged by said locking device.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiiX my signature in the presence of twowitnesses, this third day of May 1915.

HERMAN C. WALDMAN.

Witnesses:

WELLS L. CHURCH, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

Copies ot this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner or Patents, Washington, D. C.

